muscat

Nice looking motor, Nic - It's very similar to what I'm hoping to end up with.... I might well take you up on your offer later. I doubt very much that I will be able to complete this project without sourcing various small (ish!) items from Blighty, and your offer of service seems an ideal solution. Particularly when my original plan to build a 'standard' 90SV falls foul of the 'must upgrade, must improve' bug. Many thanks. I will PM you as my devious plan crystalises.... Mark

While looking around the scrappy today, I spotted a set of Disco II front calipers. I had not realised that they were so bloody sexy!! The calipers have two as opposed to four moving pistons. The two moving pistons are mounted as usual and act against one brake pad. The opposing brake pad seems to be rigidly mounted on a floating carrier assy that slides on two carrier rods. It works like a four pot caliper but only uses two pots. Probably a very bad description... The possibilities for leakage, sticking have been cut in half, and with less fluid to move I'm guessing that pedal feel will be improved. Does anyone know whether these calipers are a bolt on fit to Disco I axles? Mark

Aye, shipping a 90 tub is, I think, a non-starter. Where I am returns are not really an option Besides, I picked up a 110 rear tub today, so tomorrow I start de-riveting... Thanks for the ideas on a loom. I considered looking for complete 300tdi looms, but am wary about buying sight unseen. Seems to be a constant theme doesn't it? Once biten... The idea of a painless harness is increasingly attractive, but I would like to terminate all wiring with proper weatherproof connecters that match the existing LR lights, switches, sensors etc, similar to those used on the td5s, as opposed to a load of spade connectors. These seem to offer a more professional and lasting solution. Do these connections come from a generic supplier? Does anyone have any thoughts on the order in which the body build up should take place? I need to shorten the 110 tub, so should I fit the bulkhead (no shims) followed by the seat assy and floors, then shorten the 110 tub to fit, or is there a better way? I have all the powertrain components in-hand, so the body work will be my first priority. Once that's all sorted and of to the paint shop, I'll start moving / refurbishing the powertrain. The more thought I give it, the more questions I have.... Need another vodka. Mark

Hi, I have been given the go-ahead from SWMBO for a D90SV rebuild project, and would appreciate any advice regarding 'The Plan' Basically, an errant gentleman rolled a D90SV here (Oman) a couple of years ago. The vehicle was totalled, but I managed to buy the wreck from the main dealers. Td5 and gearbox were sold on, but I salvaged the NAS spec roll-cage (I know - it's not really designed as a roll-cage, but what else do you call it?), the bestop soft top, and all the other trim and paraphenalia that makes a D90 'look' like an SV/NAS spec vehicle. I also have the genuine autobox transmission console from an earlier project. Here's the plan: Galvanised chassis - I eblagged this, a td5 chassis. It was advertised as new. When it arrived it it was clear the chassis had been previously fitted - ground off brake union connectors, grind marks on the rear x-member to body brackets, and the gearbox x-member had been galvanised into place. Naturally, the miserable git that sold it no longer answers his phone and I'm 4000km away. Anyway, after a detailed check the chassis seems usable, so..... Besides, D90s are gold dust over here, so few options remain. Galvanised bulkhead - done. I found a brand new bulkhead still in its primer (I'm guessing a V8) in the scrappys. They weren't sure what it was and took OMR 20 for it (about £30!!! ). After galvanising, this warped and buckled a bit as expected. A bit of panel beating and it's sweet, apart from needing to 'ahem' stretch the chassis attachment points out a wee bit to fit the chassis. Judicious use of a hi-lift jack does the job nicely. This isn't quite the bodge that it sounds - we are only talking about 1/2" misalignment, but the bulkhead needs considerable persuasion to open out that 1/2". Engine / gearbox - I intend to fit a 300tdi and autobox from a 1996 disco. I fitted this combo to my '86 110, tweaked the pump, and was more than satisfied. The engine will be stripped and rebuilt using +20' pistons. Axles / brakes - Again, these will come off the donor '96 Disco. Body - this is where I hit my first snag. As I said, D90's are nigh impossible to get hold of here, and they are never broken for parts. I was thinking to get a 110 hardtop rear body, de-rivet the entire assy, modify as required and rebuild using new NAS spec rside panels. Has anyone tried this? Electrics - Dunno. I have the instrument console and switches from the D90SV, which are immaculate. I can probably salvage looms from the donor Disco and modify everything to suit. I did this with the 110, converting the '86 wiring to take a 300tdi disco instrument console etc, but I suspect that it will not be so easy with this new project. Has anyone tried the Painless Wiring harnesses? Would this be a feasible option? I don't want another cobbled together loom, as the idea is that this truck will be a keeper. Any ideas? I know that I could source some of these parts from eblag, such as a 300tdi instrument console, but by the time I receive them here, it's too late to do anything about dodgy sellers. That's pretty much the basic idea. Nothing fancy (yet ), just a fairly standard vehicle that I can tweak as required later. I would appreciate any comments from those who have attempted similar, such as what have I missed and what hiccups I can expect, and what 'inexpensive' mods I should perhaps consider during the rebuild.... Any input would be much appreciated. Before the missus changes her mind Regards, Mark

My blower motor has been playing up for a week after flooding the vehicle. Ripped all switches out again, cleaned everything, ran continuity and resistance checks - everything came up fine. , but the blower is still screwing me about. So I removed the blower (again). Turns out that the brush springs had corroded, weakened and broken. Part of one spring had managed to lodge itself alongside the brush preventing the brush from moving or making good contact. Simple as that hey. I'll now try and source a couple of replacement springs, but this might be one to bear in mind if your system starts playing up.

I have just finished rebuilding my 300tdi disco after a friendly cyclone left it filled with s*it and water to 6" above the dash. It sat like that for about 20 hours before I could start on it... The engine started easily after clearing water through the glow-plugs, removing the air-filter, and replacing all oils/filters. The problems began to occur however within days - if it was electrical, it had a gripe. Starter, alternator, indicators, you name it. These components were definitely dry - it's 40C in the shade here (summer in Oman). A month ago I gutted the interior of the vehicle, literally. I disconnected, and cleaned with WD40 every electrical connector and component. on the vehicle I stripped the starter, alternator, instrument console, etc and cleaned those out. The amount of s*it, grit, sand and corruption that I found was unreal. I had not realised how many electronic components are fitted to a '95 300tdi disco - window ecus, fancy carp behind the fuse box, electronic controls on the AC etc. As the battery was connected during the flood, every one of these items was history. Virtually every electrical connector was growing an unhealthy green salad. I salvaged replacements from a 'spare' '96 300tdi disco that will be the donor for a 'project'. As the battery was disconnected on this car, all the electronic components were fine. Funnily enough all the relays were fine on both vehicles. All mechanical components needed 3 oil changes before they came up clean. All wheel bearings were totally shot and needed replacing. The transmission brake needed a good sorting out... The vehicle now runs fine and has done for a month. I would suggest that as your battery was connected you will probably need to replace pretty much everything electronic that was wetted. Or at least be prepared to change them in the near future. and liberally coat every connector with WD40 or similar. Disconnect them to be sure you get everywhere with the WD. To get an idea of whether you have or will have problems pull a few fuses and check for corrosion/oxidisation on the connectors. If they're shiny (relatively) you might be OK. If they are showing signs of green oxides you can be pretty sure that other connectors /electronics will be suffering the same way. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but the good news is that it can be done, just takes a bit of elbow grease.

I'm a newbie to LR4X4 but I do have some experience with fridges and trailers... Trailers - I use a modified radio mast trailer fitted with SIII leaf springs and old RR hubs. The axle has been extended to match my 110 and disco. I have 235/85 tyres fitted. It weighs next to nothing but has been towed in excess of 5000km on graded and not very graded roads. On un-made surfaces, the trailer is nigh on invisible - you just don't know that it's there, but the second that you hit soft sand you will be in trouble, particularly if you slow down or need to stop, which is pretty much inevitable... The drag from even a lightly loaded trailer is extreme. Bottom line - if you intend to stay on graded or tarmac roads then you have an enviable selection of trailers to choose from. If you have any intention of crossing sand, you really have one trailer option - no trailer! I've not tried it, but I'm guessing mud would be similiar. This is not load dependant. That is, I have emptied my 110 into the trailer and been unable to make headway in sand, yet with the same equipment loaded into the 110 I can easily drive 3 - 400 km through sand. We have a lot of sand here - I live in Oman. B) Tom Shephard has an excellent book that covers this topic in detail "The expedition Handbook" (Title?) For fridges I srongly recommend 12v compressor fridges. Gas and propane fridges need specific fuels and often need to be leveled to within certain tolerances before they will function efficiently. We never had any joy with this type fridge. Beer was always warm at the most inconvenient times. In the end I bought a kit from ebay - Danfoss BD35 compressor, Evaporator, electronic controls etc, as fitted to the (ex) Waeco F70. Built up into a home made 70 litre top opening cabinet (using Nigel Calder's "Refrigeration for Pleasureboats" as guidance - despite the title it's very applicable to 4X4) it froze a crate of Heineken solid with an ambient temp of 45C!! Still couldn't drink the beer for a bit of course The whole assy draws about 3.5amps. Total cost U$250. Anyhow, my 2 cents is if you have to cross sand, forget a trailer. If you need a fridge, 12v compressor based on a Danfoss system. YMMD HTH